Ahsoka Returns
by Fiercest-Dreamer
Summary: When two younglings stumble into a bounty hunter, they have no choice but to trust him. They are in desperate need of escaping Coruscant, and the bounty hunter can provide a ship. Meanwhile, a Sith Lord senses a disturbance in the Force, and goes to investigate... Can the Jedi escape Order 66? Who is this shady bounty hunter? What's the disturbance in the Force? ON HIATUS!
1. Prologue and Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction story, so please don't hate it! P.S-This is placed in the time after Order 66 and before the Emperor was defeated.**

_It's been five years since the Jedi Purge. Any surviving Jedi have gone underground or into hiding, and the very few that remain on Coruscant have given themselves new lives and new identities, trying to forget their pasts, and hiding from the Empire. Few younglings remain, and two of them are well known to the Empire, since they have been such a nuisance to the Emperor; helping the homeless, learning important information about the Emperor's plans, and using it against him. Their names are Melory (ME-LORE-I), a human, and Aritchia (A-REE-CHI-A), a twi'lek. Their masters both died in the war. No one seems to want to help them, so they survive on their own, relying on each other. But not for long..._

**Chapter 1: The Younglings**

**Rex P.O.V**

"Blast them!" shouted Captain Rex, a veteran of the Clone Wars.

He, Commander Cody, and their squads were in pursuit of two Jedi younglings. Ever since Order 66 and the extermination of Jedi, the clones, now storm troopers, have been serving the Emperor, and hunting down any remaining Jedi. They were following Melory and Aritchia, but the younglings were gaining ground.

Rex looked around, and spotted a large hunk of metal near the road. He may not be a Force user, but he had muscle.

"Cody! Tell some of your men to haul that metal over here! We're gonna block the road!"

Cody nodded once, and ordered three of his men, Breaker, Knuckles, and Chatterbox, to grab it. The rest of Cody's squad and Rex's squad kept on firing and surrounded the younglings. They continued blasting away, while the three troopers hurled the metal from behind them.

Melory turned around in a flash just before it hit her and Aritchia, and used the Force to try to slow the impact of the metal. But she was slightly too late. It hit them head-on and they collapsed to the ground.

"Grab them and let's get out of here. Lord Vader wants them alive," ordered Cody.

Two clones grabbed a girl each and they set out to their ship. Just as they were hurrying to their cruiser, blaster fire erupted around them. Three clones went down in an instant, and the rest ducked for cover.

"Where is that coming from?!" shouted Cody. He was crouching behind a hunk of metal and a cluster of barrels next to an abandoned tool shed.

"Up there, sir!" yelled Knuckles, pointing to a tall building the next block down.

Rex looked to where he was pointing and spotted a small figure squatting on the shingled roof, using a sniper rifle to fire away at the clones.

_"Who is that sniper?"_ Rex thought to himself.

As if in answer, the sniper made an amazing triple summersault off the roof and onto the concrete ground, and right when his feet touched the ground, he continued blasting away at the storm troopers.

Rex, Cody and the other troopers dodged and jumped and over-exerted themselves trying to get away from the shooter. When Rex managed to hide behind a large boulder on the sidelines of the battle field, he finally got a good look at the shooter.

He was clad all in black, and wore a hood low over his face so that no one could see who he was. He wore, for some strange reason, knee-high boots and black gloves covering his nimble hands. Strapped to his hips crosswise were two blaster pistols in quick-draw holsters, and he also had a bow and a quiver full of what seemed to be homemade arrows strapped to his back. He was obviously extremely acrobatic, and sent a chill down Rex's back.

"Keep firing! Don't back down! You're storm troopers! We won't lose against some bounty hunter!" Cody shouted.

_"We won't make it."_ Rex thought. "Cody! Tell your men to fall back! This guy's too strong for us!"

"Are you out of your mind, Rex? We have to get these two Jedi to Lord Vader immediately. We can't admit defeat and come back to him empty handed. He'll have our heads!" Cody argued. Before Rex could reply, a large piece of debris hit him square in the chest, and he went flying backward and hit his head on the wall of an abandoned alley. He watched with pain as Cody went down too, and then Knuckles, Breaker, and Chatterbox. Another clone, Sharp, fell too, and the rest of the clones got shot. The last thing Rex saw was the black figure walking towards him and the younglings. Then everything went dark.

**This chapter is shorter than I wanted it to be, but I couldn't think of anything else. Please Rate, Follow, Favourite, and Review!**

**-NinjagoZaneLover**


	2. Chapter 2: The Soldier Surgery Part 1

**Chapter 2: The Soldier Surgery Part 1**

Melory sat up groggily. The last thing she remembered was getting hit with that large chunk of metal. She looked around her and saw all the clones either dead or knocked out. To her left was Cody and his squad, and to her right was Rex and a strange figure all in black, moving towards him. Before she could react to this scene, she heard a groan beside her, and looked down to find Aritchia thoroughly caked in dirt and mud.

"Aritchia!" Melory exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

Aritchia sat up on her elbows. She had two dark blue lekku's flowing down the front of her chest, and hazel green eyes. "Do I look alright to you?" She asked. Melory just rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Aritchia. Get up." Melory helped Aritchia get up from the dusty ground and asked "Do you know what happened here? Or who that creature is?"

Aritchia looked to where Melory was pointing and said "No, I don't. As for what happened here, I can only guess. I suppose someone, probably that guy, blasted all these troopers and knocked the rest out." She shrugged.

"I wonder..." Melory thought. "Aritchia, we should probably leave now."

"Why?" She asked, with a hint of hostility in her voice. Aritchia was the type of person that is quick to anger and difficult to calm.

"Because if any more Imperials find us here, we're going to die." Melory answered her entirely too oblivious question.

"I don't see why we should go now. All these clones are either dead or unconscious. We have plenty of time." Aritchia retorted.

"Aritchia," Melory said, exasperated. "We should go now because there is a strange creature right in front of us, and if we aren't smart, we will probably become bounty to that person, whom I'm assuming is a bounty hunter, and then he will most likely sell us to the Empire, and then, and then..."

"Whoa, whoa, chillax girl. You are getting way too ahead of yourself. If he is a bounty hunter, then fine. We'll just evade him like we did with the rest of them.

"But look around us." Melory argued. "This bounty hunter just killed an entire squad of troopers, and knocked out the whole other squad. I swear it took him one minute to do that, whereas it takes us ten."

"So? We're Jedi. We've been trained to fight people like him. Besides, even if he does try turn us in, which he won't, we could just use a Jedi mind trick on him." Aritchia said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but we'll be all over the news again. Then more hunters will come and try to get us for themselves. We have to stay in the clear. So come on."

Aritchia held up her hands defensively. "Fine, fine. Let's go."

The two girls turned to leave, when they suddenly saw the hunter coming towards them, with an unconscious Captain Rex hanging limp across his back.

"Uh oh. We're out of time." Melory said.

"Run!"

No sooner had they begun running full sprint away from the hunter, had their feet suddenly left the ground and they flew through the air and crashed into a group of barrels.

Melory looked up from where she was lying, and tried to get out from underneath the barrels; but her leg was stuck under two very rude boxes full of stone.

"Aritchia! Get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Yes you are!"

By now the hunter was only a few feet away from the two younglings. He gently and carefully laid Rex on the ground back first, and began walking over to the two girls.

"Stay back!" Melory shouted, struggling underneath the barrels. Aritchia managed to get out from underneath the stubborn hunks of wood, and drew her lightsaber.

"Don't come any closer!" Aritchia called out towards the mysterious creature.

"Don't worry." The hunter spoke softly, and quietly. His voice was slightly mechanical sounding, as if he were part machine. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yeah right. You just annihilated an entire squad of troopers, and left the others unconscious. So, your chances of me believing you that I won't get hurt, is pretty low."

"Listen to me! I'm trying to help you! More Imperials are on their way, and unless you want to die, I suggest you come with me."

Aritchia and Melory looked at each other. They gave a sigh of defeat. "Okay." Melory said. "Lead the way."

"First, help me carry these troopers." He pointed at Rex and Cody.

"Why would we bring them!?" Aritchia yelled.

The hunter was about to answer when they heard footsteps in the distance. The Imperials were coming closer. "No time to explain! Come on!"

He gracefully scooped up Rex and held him in his arms bridal style. Aritchia and Melory grabbed Cody and half dragged half carried him after them. The hunter ran at top speed towards a large cliff face. It was at least 200 metres high.

"Are you kidding me? There is no way you are going to get me to climb up _that_." Aritchia pointed in disgust at the cliff face.

"There is no time for complaining. Besides, we aren't going up the cliff. We're going in it." The hunter pressed his gloved hand against a small nearly invisible plate in the rock. It made a hissing sound, and a door suddenly appeared in the rock face. Aritchia and Melory stared in shock.

"Get moving!" The hunter whispered.

Melory and Aritchia rushed into the rock, and the hunter followed close behind. As the door to the rock face sealed behind them, none of them noticed the small spy droid peering out from behind a trash can. It hurried away to inform its master of its newest discovery.

**Sorry for the slow update! I don't have much time to go on fanfiction, so my updates will be very slow. Review, follow, favourite!**

**-NinjagoZaneLover**


	3. Chapter 3: The Soldier Surgery Part 2

**Bounty Hunter P.O.V**

As the cliff door slid closed behind me, I heaved a sigh of relief. To be honest, I had not thought we would make it in time.

I quickly and quietly walked to the kitchen and laid Rex down on the table. I turned around and gathered all the equipment I would need for the surgery that was about to take place.

As I set down the final tools for the surgery, I noticed that the two younglings had followed me into the kitchen and were watching my every move.

I gestured towards the other table in the room and said, "Put Cody there." I turned away from them and quickly but gently slid off Rex's helmet. When I realized the two females hadn't done as I'd asked, I turned to them and said, "What?"

The twi'lek roughly dropped Cody's armoured legs on the ground and crossed her arms. "First of all, I don't know who you are, but you can't expect me to do what you tell me to just because you possibly just saved my life. Second of all, why did we bring these two to here?" She said, pointing to Rex and Cody.

I sighed. I knew that, sooner or later, I would have to tell them. "Alright." I said. "I will tell you. But first, please deposit Cody on the table."

With obvious reluctance, the Twi'lek girl and the human girl placed the clone on the opposite table.

"Thank you." I said. The younglings gave me an expectant glance, waiting for me to begin. I paused a moment to gather my thoughts. _Where to start..._ I thought to myself. I sighed. "I brought these two clones here because they are commanding officers in the Empire's Army. Also because..." I trailed off. "Because each clone has a tuber in their brain."

I looked at their blank faces. "A what now?" The human asked.

"A tuber. It is implanted in their brains at birth. They were designed to make the clones obey the Emperor when he ordered them to execute Order 66."

I saw them shudder all over. I mentally shuddered myself. Order 66 was not a fun time for anyone, especially for the Jedi.

"Once the Emperor ordered it, the clones immediately obeyed the order, and killed as many Jedi as they could, Masters and younglings. But there is a way to stop them. By removing the tuber, the clone will be freed from the Emperor's control. I want to help these two. They don't deserve to be slaves. None of the boys do." I recalled the time when I had once stood beside them and called them friend, family. But those times were long gone.

"So you want to free them of the Empire's control because you think it's not right?"

"Yes, you are correct." I answered the Twi'lek's question. "Let us begin."

* * *

**Rex P.O.V**

I awoke with a start, and a searing pain in my head.

_Jeez, what hit me?_

I recall seeing a slab of stone fly towards me, then nothing. That's right; I remember now. I had been chasing the younglings, then, right when we had them, some mysterious bounty hunter had shown up and killed half of my troop.

Sitting up, I took in my surroundings. I was sitting in a cavern-like room with a high ceiling and curved walls. Medical equipment surrounded me, and I looked down towards myself and saw that I was sitting on top of a table. I looked to my right, and saw Cody laying likewise on a table.

Only then did I notice the three other figures in the room. I studied them carefully. One of them was a blue-green twi'lek girl wearing brown Jedi robes, clutching a lightsaber hilt in her right hand. Next to her stood a human girl, obviously wearing similar garments, with a silver hilt clipped to her left hip.

I realized with a start that these were the two youngling Jedi I was meant to bring in. On the other side of the room stood a dark figure, lean and dressed all in black, complete with a metal mask covering their face.

I took a brief moment to collect my thoughts, then spoke to them. "Where am I? Who are you?"

The last question was directed at the figure in black, but it was the twi'lek who answered, "You know perfectly well who we are. We're the people your kind tries to kill!"

The human girl quickly shushed her friend and said, "What Aritchia means to say is we're the two Jedi you were trying to...apprehend."

"I know that." Rex said, not unkindly. "I was actually asking him." He gestured in the direction of the bounty hunter.

The Twi'lek's face flushed a shade of blue in embarrassment, while the hunter just stood there silently.

Rex turned to face him and said, "So, who are you?" The person in question simply stood there for a moment or two, not answering the Captain.

Finally, he spoke, "That is information I do not wish to reveal." Rex sat in momentary surprise at the sound of the voice. He thought he could recognize it. But underneath all the mechanical noise, it was difficult to tell. So he shrugged instead. "Okay, then."

Everyone sat or stood in uncomfortable silence for a few moments, until the Hunter spoke up. "The Commander is waking up."

Sure enough, Cody was groggily sitting up. He took a quick look at his surroundings and said, "What did I miss?"

* * *

I stared at the ceiling again. For three hours, I had been lying here, thinking over what had happened. After Cody had woken up, I had filled him in on the details, with the twi'lek, whom I learned was Aritchia, adding unnecessary comments here and there. I had kept a watchful eye on the Bounty Hunter, whom betrayed no emotion. I kept wondering who he was.

He had told Cody and me that we could stay the night, as well as the Jedi. He had showed us to our rooms, right across from each other. After a quiet, quick meal of warm stew and hash-browns, I had gone to my quarters and stripped off my armour. I had placed my blue and white helmet on my nightstand, and had gone to sleep-or tried to, anyways.

I couldn't fall asleep. I kept having this nagging feeling in my mind that I knew the Hunter. From where, I don't know. I'm pretty sure I would remember someone that good. After debating with myself and making up my mind, I threw on my armoured boots and stepped out of my room. Looking down the cave corridor, I noticed the door at the very end was slightly ajar.

Creeping as quietly as I could, I made it to the end of the hall. I pushed the door open slightly, surprised it didn't make any noise. I stepped into the room, and silently closed the door behind me. Turning around, I saw moonlight seeping through a gap in the rock wall, and the Hunter himself standing in front of the hole. I sneakily walked up behind him. Before I had gone more than two steps, he spoke.

"You have questions." It was more a statement than a question. I simply nodded my head in response, and sidled up next to him.

The Hunter sighed and turned to me. "I will warn you beforehand, I will not be able to answer all of them. But the ones I can answer, I will try my best to."

I took a deep breath and asked, "Why did you save me and Cody?"

He just sighed and said, "You needed help. I could provide it."

"But you're the one that knocked us out in the first."

"Technically, that was Melory and Aritchia who knocked you out. I simply handled everyone else."

I decided to try a different approach. "Are you a bounty hunter?"

He wasted no time in replying, "That depends on your definition of 'bounty hunter'. Sure, I take jobs that pay, but before you ask," he said as I began opening his mouth, "I don't kill. I can severely injure people, if it is absolutely necessary, but I'm not a killer."

I decided to ask the question that had been on his mind for the whole day, "Who are you?"

I swear I saw him smile under his black mask. "A friend. When the time comes, if it ever does, you will discover who I am. But before then, don't go digging."

I just nodded in response, seeing as there was no room for argument.

"You should get some sleep, Rex." I looked around in surprise. That was the first time I had been called Rex by the bounty hunter. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow. You'll need your strength."

I asked, "Why's that?"

"Now that you're no longer under the Empire's control, you don't have to listen to them. Tomorrow you can make your decision to either stay here, or you can leave. I won't force you to do either one."

I was taken aback at the emotion I thought I heard in the Hunter's voice. But instead of replying, I simply nodded and complied. After shutting the door to my room, I lay back down on my bed. I closed my eyes and fell asleep, thinking over what the mysterious Hunter had told me. Who is he? Where is he from? How come I have the nagging suspicion I know him?

_Cut it out, Rex, _I told myself. _All my questions will be answered in due time. There's nothing to worry about._

But even as I thought this, I was sure that there was more to come in the near future, and I would need to be ready for it.

* * *

**Hi! Sorry, it's been forever since I updated. I've found I have no room in my day for FanFiction. But I will not abandon this story. It's just taking more time than I had originally planed. I'm also mainly focusing on one of my other storied, _The __Legacy Fulfilled. _As usual, follow, fav, review!**

**-NinjagoZaneLover**


	4. Hiatus Notice

**Hello, everyone. I know it's been a while, so I'm just going to come out and say it: I am putting this story on hiatus indefinitely. For those of you who don't know, 'indefinitely' does not mean 'forever'. It simply means 'for an unknown amount of time'. Anyway, I want everyone to know I have plans for this story, but a lot of stuff is going on in my life right now, so you're all going to need to wait a little bit longer for the next chapter. I am not, however, abandoning this story. I hope you will all understand, and continue following this story. I promise I will post the next chapter eventually, but it may not be for some time.**

**Thanks for understanding.**

**• Fiercest-Dreamer**


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